Crisis Response

The success of BVSD students sometimes requires more than our schools and teachers are able to provide during the day, and this is where we step in. In times of crisis or emergency we are agile and strategic in our response, finding where we can best support the needs of the Boulder Valley community. 

Marshall Fire

Over 900 students and 100 educators in the Boulder Valley School District were displaced by the devastating Marshall Fire on December 30, 2021.

Students and educators impacted by the fire found themselves facing the financial impacts and trauma of losing their homes, being displaced, losing their belongings, and seeing their community forever changed.

The Pandemic

When the COVID-19 pandemic caused schools to close on March 13, 2020, education as we knew it was flipped upside down.

Many families rely on our schools for much more than learning. When schools closed, these students immediately needed nutritious food at home and internet and devices to access remote learning. As students returned to school, supporting supplemental instruction to help students catch up on learning became a priority as well.

Mental Health

• Funded the hire of four mental health advocates in BVSD schools to help students deal with the trauma of displacement
• Provided funding to enable Boulder schools deploy trauma response teams to counsel students immediately after Marshall Fire

Direct Support for Students & Families

• Provided $120,000 in School Age Care (SAC) funding for impacted families during the 2022-23 school year
• Provided over $100,000 in transportation stipends to impacted families
• Funded $82,000 in school lunch fees for impacted families
• Distributed over $21,000 in gift cards through Community Liaisons and Mental Health Advocates
• Provided $5,000 in RTD bus passes to impacted families

• 900 “Comfort Kits” were distributed to displaced BVSD students with gift cards, blankets, art supplies, letters of support and more
• Backpacks full of school supplies distributed to over 600 BVSD students at 22 schools who lost their homes

Direct Support to Educators & Schools

• Provided Marshall Fire Commemoration funding to two impacted schools
• $500 personal checks and gift cards to 98 displaced staff members in the Boulder Valley School District

Academic Needs

• Provided over $40,000 to replace academic and sports supplies, including graphing calculators, athletic gear, spirit wear, library books, and more.
• Funded repair and cleaning of musical instruments donated by the community

Food Security

• Supported emergency food distribution of nearly 2 million meals through BVSD Food Services
• Delivered groceries to 450 high needs families
• Distributed grocery gift cards to families 

The Digital Divide

• Provided 1,500 families with internet access through BVSD IT
• Supported the distribution of 6,000 chromebooks
• Deployed 450 hotspots to families in need of more reliable service

Supplemental Instruction

• Targeted tutoring for 3rd-8th grade students
• ACT/SAT preparatory courses for high school juniors
• Funding for all BVSD high school students needing to retake failed or incomplete coursework
• Additional instruction, technology and curriculum to keep students engaged and on grade level

Emergency Child Care

• Eliminated child care debt for 53 BVSD families in financial need
• Funded supervised care before and after 2021 summer learning

School Supplies

• Acquired and distributed 3,000 backpacks filled with school supplies
• Purchased thousands of books and collected thousands more books for families